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Porsche forum claims eco-friendly 911 Blu coming to Frankfurt

The fiftieth anniversary of the Porsche 911 has been a nearly year-long affair, with unique tributes and even a special anniversary edition with plenty of retro throwbacks. The party is expected to continue through the end of 2013, and if one 911 enthusiast forum is right, we'll see yet another special edition model near the anniversary of the original car's September 1963 debut, when it arrives at next month's Frankfurt Auto Show.
It's called the 911 Blu, and where the 911 50 Years Edition was more expensive than a 911 Carrera S hardtop, the Blu would be an entry level special edition. That's right, a limited run car that actually slots in at the very bottom of the 911 range. According to Porsche forum 911UK.com, the new car would be priced at 74,600 euros ($98,718 at today's rates) or 64,750 pounds. That undercuts the price of a base 911 in Germany by nearly 16,000 euros and in the UK by nearly 8700 pounds (although to be fair, it's roughly identical to the price of a base 911 C2S in the US).
This 911 will reportedly feature a detuned flat-six with 300 horsepower and 211 pound-feet of torque.

VW adding particulate filters to gas engines

Volkswagen is working hard to overcome the PR disaster that is its diesel emissions scandal, and part of its efforts is focusing, weirdly, on petrol engines. Starting in June 2017, the embattled German automaker will add particulate filters to the gas-powered Volkswagen Tiguan and Audi A5. The change will eventually impact nearly every direct-injected gas engine the VW Group makes. Audi? Particulate filter. Seat? Particulate filter. Even Bentley is going to get the tech, all in a bid to reduce soot emissions by 90 percent. In fact, by 2022 VAG expects 7 million of its vehicles to boast the emissions-cleaning tech, which has long been a fixture on diesel engines. "Following increases in efficiency and lower CO2 output, we are now bringing about a sustained reduction in the emission levels of our modern petrol engines by fitting particulate filters as standard," Volkswagen Group research and design boss Dr. Ulrich Eichhorn said in a statement. "In the future, all models will be equipped with the latest and most efficient SCR catalytic converter technology." VW's initial rollout focuses on the 1.4-liter, turbocharged Tiguan and the 2.0-liter, turbocharged A5. Considering the popularity of the 2.0-liter across the VW range, we'd expect it's only a matter of time before VW expands its particulate filters tech to additional gas-powered vehicles. Related Video:

Evo rediscovers true love in the new Porsche 911 GT3 RS

Evo is on record as loving the Porsche 911 GT3. In fact the only time the GT3 hasn't won its Car of the Year award was when there wasn't a new one to contend for top honors, and in 2009 (when the 997.2 GT3 lost out to the Lotus Evora). By all accounts, then, Evo ought to love the new GT3 RS. Fortunately that's just what the British enthusiast's publication has gotten its hands on for this latest video. After Porsche went a bit softer with the current 911 GT3, the RS has been toughened up to greet the most hardcore of Zuffenhausen's faithful. It was revealed just a few months ago at the Geneva Motor Show, with a 4.0-liter atmospheric boxer-six driving 500 horsepower and 338 pound-feet of torque to the rear wheels – exclusively through a dual-clutch transmission. That last bit might be enough to make the snobbiest of purists scoff, but it wasn't enough to keep Chris Harris from loving it. Find out what his former compatriots at Evo have to say from this first drive.